Adjustable footrest



April 1, 1952 R. N. OWLER I 2,591,598

ADJUSTABLE FQOTREST Filed April 13, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET l April 1952 R.N. OWLER 2,591,598

ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST Filed April 13, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 If v r,Zvzzienior':

Patented Apr. 1, 1952 ADJUSTABLE FOOTREST Robert N. Owler, Westminster,Mass, assignorto Heywood-Wakefield Company, Gardner, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application April 13, 1949, Serial No.87,214

4: Claims. 1

This invention relates to foot rests for vehicle chairs and moreparticularly to novel suspension mechanism for a foot rest which ispivotally mounted and connected to the lower rear of a vehicle chairframe for use by the occupant of the chair next behind. In one aspectthis invention relates to novel foot rest suspension mechanism adaptedto facilitate vertical adjust-. ment and stowage of the foot rest. Inanother aspect this invention relates to novel foot rest mechanism forrailroad car chairs by means of which the foot rest may be elevated to aposition free and clear of the chair frame for purposes of pivoting thechairs for reversal of direction.

' Foot rests connected to the lower rear of vehicle chair frames for useby occupants in the chair next behind, fall into four generalcategories. The first category includes foot rests which are rigidlysecured to the chair frame; the second category includes foot restswhich are mounted to fold in and out beneath the chair;

1 the third category includes foot rests mounted to slide in and outbeneath the chair, and the fourth category includes foot rests mountedto pivot from'a depressed position beneath the chair to an elevatedposition to the rear of the chair. Fixed foot rests in the firstcategory have the obvious disadvantages of failing to accommodate chairoccupants having different leg lengths and cannot be moved out of theway by occupants not desiring to use them. Folding foot rests belongingto the second category, while they may be moved out of the way, aregenerally inconvenient to operate and are not adjustable to accommodatedifferent leg lengths. Sliding foot rests belonging to the thirdcategory generally are mounted upon guide ways and slide in and outbeneath the chair to acommodate different leg lengths. While they may beadjusted, they usually comprise numerous working parts rendering theirconstruction and installation expensive, and their maintenancedifficult. Such sliding foot rests also generally require the. occupantto stoop forward to adjust them; and furthermore, due to their locationbeneath the chair they interfere with pivoting railroad car chairs forreversal of direction. The principal disadvantage pertaining to footrests in the fourth category is that they are generally difficult toadjust. In the past, attempts have been made to provide convenientadjusting mechanism for fixing the foot rest in various positions, buthitherto none has been entirely successful. One such attempt employed ahand lever linked to the foot rest to elevate or lower it and included ahand operated locking mechanism. While it may be said that such aconstruction is an improvement, still the number of working partsrequired render it initially expensive, and difficult to maintain.Furthermore, the foot rest is generally bulky rendering it difiicult toadjust in the horizontal position, and furthermore, hand operation hasthe additional disadvantage of requiring the user to stoop forward.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide a convenientlyadjustable foot rest con.- nected to the lower rear of a vehicle chairframe for accommodation of occupants of the chair next behind which footrest will not interfere with pivoting the chair about its base forpurposes of changing itsdirection. Another object of my invention is toprovide a simple and convenient suspension mechanism for such a leg restby means of which the leg rest may be fixed in various positions toaccommodate different leg lengths without requiring the user to stoopforward to operate it.

An additional object of my invention is to pro vide suspension mechanismfor a pivotally mounted foot rest having few working parts, being simplein construction, and having means to counteract the bulk weight of theleg rest.

In the accomplishment of these objects I mount a foot rest upon ahorizontal shaft and pivotally connect the shaft transversely across.

the bottom rear support members of the chair frame. At one end of thisshaft I secure a toothed gear segment and pivotally mount a pawl arm onthe chair frame adjacent to and engaging the gear segment. The gearsegment serves as part of a ratchet wheel with the pawl arm engaging itsteeth to prevent downward pivotal movement of the foot rest in variouspositions depending upon which tooth of the gear segment the pawl armengages. The pawl arm is urged into contact with the gear segment by acompression spring and is also provided with a rearwardly extending footpedal for the purpose of releasing it from the gear segment. The saidcompression spring, however, allows the pawl arm to recede and allowupward pivotal movement of the foot rest, when the occupant pulls itupward.-

It is a feature of my invention that a torsion spring is mounted uponthe foot rest pivot shaft for the purpose of urging the foot restupwardly to compensate for the weight of the foot rest. The torsionspring, however, is not sufficiently strong to overcome the full weightof the foot rest when the foot rest is pivoted to the horizontalposition. Thus, when the pawl arm is released from the gear segment byoperation of the foot pedal, the foot rest will drop slowly towards the.

depending vertical position the efiect of gravity upon the pivotalmovement of the foot rest is less and the torsion spring entirelycounterbalances the foot rest before it reaches the depending verticalposition. Since the foot rest would swing aimlessly in the balancedposition, it is an additional feature of my invention that the footpedal may then be released with the pawl arm then bearing upon the upperedge of the gear segment, holding the foot rest firmly in the fullydepressed position.

Further objects and features of my invention will best be" understoodand appreciated from a detailed description of a preferred embodimentthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a view in perspective of the foot rest of my invention securedto a vehicle chair with the vehicle chair partially pivoted for purposeof reversal of direction,

Fig. 2 is a rear view in perspective of a vehicle chair equipped withthe foot rest of my invention,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the suspension mechanism of the footrest,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view in side elevation along the lines 44 of Fig.3, illustrating the foot rest in a partially elevated position,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view in side elevation along the lines 4-4 of Fig.3, illustrating the foot rest in fully depressed position, and

Fig. 6 is a partially sectioned View in rear elevation of the foot restbracket.

The preferred embodiment herein shown includes a horizontal foot restIil, supported at each end by arms I2, which in turn are mounted upon atransverse shaft Id. The shaft I4 is pivotally mounted for rotation insuitable bearings supported at one end by an upstanding strut I6 and atthe other end by a bracket. II both of which are secured to a transversemember I 8 of the seat frame (not fully shown) The arms 12 carry thefoot rest in a position below and to the rear of the seat and areprovided with stops 20 located to engage a pin 2I when the foot rest isin the fully elevated position as will be further explained below. Thefoot rest itself is pivotally connected to the arms I2 by suitablebearings (not shown), and rocks freely to accommodate various footpositions.

It will be seen that the foot rest would normally be heavy to pivotupwards; and furthermore, if it were dropped from the elevated position,it would gain considerable momentum in its downward pivotal movementwith the possibility of damaging the arms I2 or the strut Is. In orderto counter-act these forces a torsion spring 22 is mounted upon theshaft I4. One end of the spring 22 is secured to the shaft at 2 and itsother end is extended downward and secured to the transverse supportmember I'8 at 26. The torsion spring may be any conventional helicalspring, the only limiting feature bein that it is not strong enough toactually overcome the weight of the foot rest. Thus the foot rest isfree to pivot slowly downward and may be raised by the occupant of theseat next behind by merely lightly pulling it upwards with his foot.

lhe shaft I4, as above described, is supported at one end by thebrackets H which is formed in the shape of an inverted U with the shaftI4 passing through its side walls. For the purpose of providing aplurality of fixed positions for the foot rest, a segment of a gear 21having upstanding gear teeth is secured to the shaft I4 between the sidewalls of the bracket IT. A pawl arm 28 is pivotally mounted upon atransverse pin 2I which passes through the side walls of the bracket I'I substantially above the shaft I4. The pawl arm 28 is positioned toengage the teeth of the gear segment 2! to prevent downward pivotalmovement of the foot rest I0, and is urged into contact with the teethof one gear segment by a compression spring 34 mounted upon anupstanding arm 38 integral with the transverse support I8 and bearingagainst 2. depending extension 36 of the pawl arm 28. Thus, the gearsegment 21 serves as part of a ratchet wheel, and holds the foot rest I8against downward pivotal movement in various positions depending uponwhich tooth of the gear segment 21 the pawl arm 28 engages. Thecompression spring 34, however, allows the pawl arm to rise over thesuccessive teeth of the gear segment 21 while the foot rest I0 is beingpivoted upward.

The pin 2| extends to each side of the bracket I1, and is secured at oneend to the chair side frame 8. The other end of the pin 2| extendstransversely to a point directly above the nearest arm I2 in whichposition it engages the stop 28 of the said arm I2 when the leg restisfully elevated. A back plate 23 (see Fig. 1) is mounted on the chairto the rear of the suspension mechanism in order to provide a convenienthousing for it and is provided with appropriately located notches 25 toreceive the arms I2 and foot pedals 32. It will be noted, however, thatthe arms I2 and foot pedals 32 do not lodge fully into the said notches25.

In order to lower the foot rest ID, the pawl arm 28 must be disengagedfrom the gear segment 21, and to this end, a foot pedal 32 is mountedintegrally with the pawl arm 28 and extends rearwardly where it mayconveniently be operated. Depressing the foot pedal, elevates the pawlarm 28 clear of the teeth of the gear segment 21, and allows freedownward pivotal movement of the :foot rest I8.

While the torsion spring 22 is not sufiiciently strong to overcome theweight of the foot rest II] when the latter is in an elevated position,it will be seen that the force of gravity is less when the foot rest Inapproaches a depending vertical position. Actually in the preferredembodiment of my invention herein shown, the foot rest never reaches afully vertical position because the arms I2 abut against rubber shockpads 33 when the foot rest reaches an angle of approximately declivityfrom horizontal. However, when the foot rest is in such position withthe arms I2 engaging the pads 33, the torsion spring 22 is just strongenough to counterbalance the weight of the foot rest I0.

The foot rest is restrained against swayingin the fully depressedposition by the compression spring 34 which will at that time urge thepawl arm 28 against the uppermost tooth of the gear segment 27 therebytending to pivot the foot rest downward. It is to be noted that the pawlarm 28 is then held in a more elevated position by the uppermost tooththan when normally lodgedbetween two teeth, with the result that thecompression spring 34 will be more compressed and will exert morepressure in holding the foot rest fully depressed than in initiallyresisting elevation from one of the intermediate positions. Further inthis connection, it is to be noted that; the gear segment 21 differsfrom the conventional 75 ratchet wheel in the sharp angle of the notchesbetween its teeth. Without such notches in combination with the angle ofthe pawl arm 28, the steadying effect of the compression spring 3 andpawl arm 28 would be substantially diminished.

The operation of the foot rest of my invention is as follows. In thefully depressed position, the pawl arm bears upon the upper edge of thegear segment 27. From this position, the foot rest may be elevated bythe occupant of the chair next behind by pulling upwards upon the footrest with his foot. During this phase, the teeth of the gear segment 21cause the pawl arm to rise intermittently and drop between eachsuccessive tooth. This operation is accomplished without depressing thefoot pedal 32. The foot rest may be left in any position during itsupward journey, wherein the pawl arm 28 enters between the teeth of thegear 2?. To lower the foot rest, the occupant depresses the foot pedal32, releasing the pawl arm 28 from the teeth of the gear segment 21. Thefoot rest will then drop slowly to the fully depressed position.

It will be evident from the apparatus thus described that the foot restmay also be arrested in Various positions during its downward path bymerely releasing the foot pedal 32 and allowing the pawl arm 28 to enterthe teeth of the gear segment 2'1. If the desired adjustment is notattained by such a method the first time the foot pedal is released, theoccupant need merely release the foot pedal again, or elevate the footrest one or two notches as desired.

Since the foot rest of my invention is mounted upon the rear of thechair frame as distinguished from the chair base or pedestal, the footrest will be carried by the chair as the latter is pivoted for reversalof direction (see Fig. 5). Thus, the space under the forward part of thechair will be free for use by the occupant or for accommodation of a legrest. It is not necessary to elevate the foot rest It individually priorto pivoting the chair because the pivotal movement brings the arms l2 upagainst a transverse chair base plate so and causes them to elevate thefoot rest concurrently with pivoting the chair.

While minor variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, itis not intended to limit the invention to the precise structure of thepreferred embodiment herein shown, but rather to measure it in terms ofthe appended claims.

Having thus disclosed an illustrative embodiment of my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

l. A rocking foot rest for connection to the lower rear of a vehiclechair and adapted to rock from a position beneath the chair to anelevated position to the rear of the chair; having in combination, ahelical torsion spring adapted to urge the foot rest upward, the saidtorsion spring counterbalancing the foot rest when the latter is in thedepressed position but allowing a slow downward movement of the footrest when the latter is in the horizontal position, and means includinga gear segment and spring operated pawl for arresting the downwardmovement of the foot rest in a plurality of positions of elevation, thepawl constructed and arranged to bear with increased spring compressionupon the gear segment when the foot rest is in the depressed positionrestraining the same from rocking aimlessly.

2. A foot rest for vehicle chairs comprising a shaft rotatably mountedin the lower rear of the vehicle chair, arms secured to the shaft andsupporting a foot rail at a distance from the said shaft, a toothed gearsegment integral with one end of the shaft, a pawl arm rockably mountedupon the chair adjacent to the gear segment and engaging the said gearsegment to prevent downward movement of the foot rail in a plurality ofpositions, a torsion spring encircling the shaft adapted tocounterbalance the weight of the foot rail when the latter is in thedepressed position, but allowing slow downward movement of the foot railwhen the latter is in the horizontal position, and a compression springurging the pawl into engaging relation with the gear, the gear segmentbeing adapted to hold the pawl in a partially elevated position when thefoot rail is fully depressed whereby the compression spring will exertincreased pressure in restraining the foot rail in the said fullydepressed position.

3. A pendulous, multi-position foot rest for connection to the lowerrear of a vehicle chair for use by the occupant of the chair nextbehind; having in combination, a spring urging the foot rest upward andcounterbalancing the-foot rest in a slanting position of declivity; adeep toothed gear segment operatively associated with the foot rest, apawl rockably connected to the chair adapted to engage the teeth of thegear segment and prevent downward motion of the foot rest in a pluralityof positions of elevation; a compression spring urging the pawl intoengaging relation with the gear segment whereby prior to lodging fullyinto the cavity between two teeth the pawl arm urges the foot restdownward with increased pressure, and the fully depressed position ofsaid foot rest positioning said gear segment such that the pawl arm hasnot lodged fully in the teeth thereof.

4. A pendulous, multi-position foot rest for connection to the lowerrear of a vehicle chair having in combination, means arresting thedownward motion of the foot rest in a fully lowered slanting position ofdeclivity, a helical torsion spring counterbalancing the foot rest inthe said fully lowered position, a toothed gear segment operativelyassociated with the foot rest, a pawl rockably connected to the chair,adapted to lodge between the teeth of the gear segment to preventdownward motion of the foot rest in a' plurality of positions ofelevation, the pawl further adapted to engage the upper corner of theend tooth of the gear segment when the foot rest is in the said fullylowered counterbalanced position, and a second spring urging the pawlinto engaging relation with the gear segment, whereby, when the footrest is in the fully lowered counterbalanced position, the pawl arm willbe partially elevated, under increased compression, and operative torestrain the foot rest in the fully lowered position.

ROBERT N. OWLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 850,458 Bagley Apr. 16, 19072,093,455 Knight Sept. 21, 1937 2,284,129 Caesar May 26, 1942 2,337,229C'assens Dec. 21, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 243,066Switzerland Feb. 17, 1947

